History Main / TheEmpath

* The treecats in the Literature/{{Honorverse}} have an empathic link with their adopted humans, but can also sense basic emotions of other people around him. Combine that ability with their agility, claws and fiercely protective nature of their adopted human, and you get a cute, fuzzy KillerRabbit that tears out the throats of well armed, disguised assassins.

* In ''Series/DoctorWho'', the Doctor seems to have some form of this power along with his telepathy, although pure receptive empathy is only explicitly used by the [[TheNthDoctor Ninth Doctor]]. It's implied that it's a normal sense for Timelords to have (apparently [[TheSociopath the Master]] is disabled in this regard). Given the Doctor's often oblivious behaviour, one assumes that he normally blocks his empathic perception, perhaps out of respect for his companions' privacy.

* CrossGen's ''The First'' had Pyrem, a diplomat whose powers were described (but not often shown) as empathic. ''Crux'' had empathy as the fifth [[{{Atlantis}} Atlantean]] discipline named empathy, but it manifested as VoluntaryShapeshifting.

* In Creator/IsaacAsimov's ''{{Foundation}}'' series, the Mule became a BigBad because he's able to [[{{Brainwashed}} Brainwash]] his enemies into completely loyal servants. Unlike most mind-controlling telepaths, he's unable to read minds for specific information, but he ''can'' overwrite the emotions most {{Brainwashed}} servants would use to break free at a crucial moment.
* Talia in Mercedes Lackey's ''HeraldsOfValdemar'' series has both the receptive and manipulative form of this power; initially she spends a lot of time struggling with it.

* In James White's ''SectorGeneral'' series, Doctor Prilicla is a member of an empathic insectoid race; he finds it distressing to be in the presence of strong emotion, and acts as a peacemaker in self-defense. He's a case of HeartIsAnAwesomePower; uses his empathy to pinpoint the locations of patients who need rescuing, and can use his power to help keep them alive by bolstering their spirits. While it wouldn't be useful for a superhero, it made Prilicla one of the most valuable members of Sector General. He is only able to use his empathy in that way because he has the personal courage to willingly expose himself to others' pain and desperation, not to mention physical danger.

* Flinx, the star character of Creator/AlanDeanFoster's ''HumanxCommonwealth'' series, is an Empath with apparently near-infinite potential, thanks to a group of [[EvilutionaryBiologist rogue geneticists]]. Too bad he has [[PowerIncontinence almost no]] [[SuperpowerMeltdown control]] over the power and is constantly hunted by people seeking to "fix", manipulate, or kill him for it. The series has gradually taken him from idealism to cynicism to [[{{Wangst}} near-pathological despair]] over time, and shows no signs of letting up, especially as his power is apparently [[TheChosenOne the key to saving the entire known universe]].
* Greg Mandel from PeterFHamilton's ''Mindstar'' series is a private detective with empathic powers. He is also an ex-military hardcase and can do some other things with his mind, but he finds his empathic ability very useful when interrogating suspects. He uses word association interrogation and sees when their feeling of guilt spikes.

* A male example, in ''HiddenTalents'' and its sequel, the protagonist's power is the ability to sense emotions of others. he doesn't realize this power until the very end, and doesn't start using it until the sequel, True Talents, came out.
* [[WrenchWench Samella Connel]], from the ''ColSecTrilogy''.

* In ''TheWheelOfTime'', one of the attributes of the Aes Sedai/Warder bond (and it's variations) gives those involved the ability to sense each other's emotions.

* Molly Carpenter of TheDresdenFiles evolves into this as she becomes more proficient with magic. Her skillset is very powerful; unfortunately, to use it against a person, she must go inside that person's mind and feel what they feel. When fighting criminals and EldritchAbomination[=s=], for example, her mental stability is adversely affected.

* In ''OnePiece'' a Kenbushoku Haki user (called also Mantra) can work this way. Both Aisa and [[spoiler: Otohime]] are able to sense negative emotions of people around them. Some users, like [[spoiler: Otohime]], act upon these sensations and try to help. This power can also turn out to be pretty nasty one, if a user [[PowerIncontinence isn’t able to control it]]. [[spoiler: Coby]] learnt it hard way.

* This is sort of {{Man-Thing}}'s deal. He's a superstrong being made of plant matter, and if his body's destroyed, he can reconstitute himself in his home swamp. But he also senses emotions; in general, he doesn't like negative ones. Specifically, fear causes him to immolate tings; hence the tagline "Whatever knows fear burns at the Man-Thing's touch". Though despite the fact that he's a mindless swamp creature with an appearance that borders between terrifying and UglyCute, typically only bad guys get incinerated, bystanders don't.

* Mao from ''Anime/CodeGeass'' is this. Due to his [[PowerIncontinence inability to turn off his]] [[AMindIsATerribleThingToRead Mind Reading]] [[EvilEye Geass]]. He uses his power to [[ManipulativeBastard convince Shirley to kill Lelouch]] [[BreakTheCutie after her father's death because]] of [[SecretIdentity Zero]] and again against Suzaku [[MindRape when he reveals his past]] leading to a [[HeroicBSOD temporary mental breakdown]].

* The main character of ''Fanfic/EmpathTheLuckiestSmurf'' is a male example.

* Counselor Troi from ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' is the archetype in most SF fans' minds. [[hottip:*:At least one Empath appeared in ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries''.]] Thus, she is the reason many of them think the empath is useless. Aliens could be invading the ship and she would say something like "I sense danger."

* The treecats in the [[HonorHarrington Honorverse]] have an empathic link with their adopted humans, but can also sense basic emotions of other people around him. Combine that ability with their agility, claws and fiercly protective nature of their adopted human, and you get a cute, fuzzy KillerRabbit that tears out the throats of well armed, disguised assasins.

* ''DungeonsAndDragons'' has the Argent class - Psyonic characters that can manipulate the emotions of both their enemies and their allies. Most of their attacks either boost their allie's stats or degrade their enemies. This class, in the role-playing sections, are either played as larger than life, feeling their emotions more powerfully than normal and being influenced by/influencing their environment...or, as a twist, to be the {{Stoic}} who always tries to keep their emotions in. The rule book makes a point to mention that while playing them as loud, emotional types is okay, you have to be careful not to turn them into a caricature.

* Imriel de la Courcel of the ''KushielsLegacy'' series. His particular version allowed him to detect "fault lines" in a personality, which he could then exploit to manipulate them. A particularly interesting and well-written example, because it was a potentially tremendously powerful ability which he ''could have'' used to take over the kingdom, but never did- principally because he was (thanks to being raised by his benevolent foster-parents) such a nice guy. In fact, he almost never used it at all. His ''biological'' mother, on the other hand, was a thoroughly evil murderess who used the same ability to repeatedly try to take over the kingdom.

* In ''OnePiece'' a Color of Observation (called also Mantra) can work this way. Both Aisa and [[spoiler: Otohime]] are able to sense negative emotions of people around them. Some users, like [[spoiler: Otohime]], act upon these sensations and try to help. This power can also turn out to be pretty nasty one, if a user [[PowerIncontinence isn’t able to control it]]. [[spoiler: Coby]] learnt it hard way.

* ''WebOriginal/MotherOfLearning'' has [[spoiler:Zorian]], an entertainingly misanthropic example.

* Flinx, the star character of AlanDeanFoster's ''HumanxCommonwealth'' series, is an Empath with apparently near-infinite potential, thanks to a group of [[EvilutionaryBiologist rogue geneticists]]. Too bad he has [[PowerIncontinence almost no]] [[SuperpowerMeltdown control]] over the power and is constantly hunted by people seeking to "fix", manipulate, or kill him for it. The series has gradually taken him from idealism to cynicism to [[{{Wangst}} near-pathological despair]] over time, and shows no signs of letting up, especially as his power is apparently [[TheChosenOne the key to saving the entire known universe]].

* ''Series/{{Hannibal}]'': Will Graham is a rare non-psychic example. His gift of "pure empathy" allows him to get into the minds of the criminals he hunts and causes him many troubles along the way.

Sometimes the Empath allowed is evil (most likely due to being driven nigh-insane from [[PowerIncontinence automatically empathizing with]] ''[[AMindIsATerribleThingToRead everything]]'' [[PowerIncontinence around them]] - [[ThePowerOfLove good]] ''and'' [[HumansAreBastards bad]]). Through the power of emotional manipulation an evil empath becomes the ultimate ChessMaster. Expect to see at least one very cruel BatmanGambit. If the evil influence is due to chronic PowerIncontinence rather than malicious intent, The Empath may become the FisherKing.

* Cherish, a supervillain from ''Literature/{{Worm}}'', is a gifted and amoral empath who can not only sense emotions but induce them as well. All at multi-mile range.

* The treecats in the [[HonorHarrington Honorverse]] have an empathic link with their adopted humans, but can also sense basic emotions of other people around him. Combine that ability with their agility, claws and fiercly protective nature of their adopted human, and you get a cute, fuzzy KillerRabit that tears out the throats of well armed, disguised assasins.